The first step you will need to take when you decide to build a website for your business is to choose a domain name and extension. Here we are analysing the reasons why .co.uk extensions are the most popular ones for UK businesses and how to get your free domain name.
Most business owners now rely on e-commerce to make most of their profits. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you are planning on having a physical business or not. You’re most likely looking at being found by most new prospects online.
The growth of e-commerce is not likely to decrease any time soon. E-commerce is accelerating even quicker in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. In fact, a high percentage of retailers are migrating from physical stores to allowing their customers to shop online. This is having different repercussions. For instance, just as a physical store would, the increased demand is rising the prices of online domains. Additionally, the competition is increasing, which means, as a business owner, you have to pay close attention to choosing the right domain name for your website to be able to compete.
Your website is your online business card. Therefore, a lot of thinking has to be done when setting it up for the first time or if you are relaunching to make it more suitable to your customers’ needs and more user-friendly.
Now, there are different types of domain names. So before you choose one for your business, you need to find out what the best type is for you and how to get one that meets your budget and suits your brand. In this blog, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about domain names, why .co.uk domains are the best option for most businesses and how you can get a free domain name.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is your address on the Internet. It is the address you will share with others so that they can find your business.
Potential customers will see your domain name in ads and searches. Therefore, a domain name plays a very important part in your brand identity, and helps form an impression about your online presence.
However, it is not just the name you choose for your website that is an important decision. You also need to choose which domain extension to use, which is the part of your domain name that follows after the first dot.
The domain extension also influences the perception your potential customers will have of your brand. We will explain why below, but first, here’s an overview of the different types of domain names.
What types of domain names are there?
First, you can find the following top-level domains (TLD) or domain name extensions:
gTLD – generic Top Level Domain
Some of the most popular generic top level domains are:
- .com: Originally created for commercial organizations. Nowadays, the .com domains are the most popular ones in the world.
- .net: Created for network technologies such as internet service providers.
- .edu: Domains created for education institutions, such as universities.
- .org: Although it was originally created for non-profits, this top level domain is now used by all types of organizations.
ccTLD – country code Top Level Domains
Country code top level domains are those that are linked to a particular geographical location – for example .uk signifies United Kingdom.
Originally, it was designed so that only residents of that country could register for a domain name with the code from that country. However, some countries now allow businesses and organizations in other countries to register website names.
ccTLD second level domains
Below country code top level domains, there can also be other second level domains. An example of this is the well known .co.uk, but there are many others, both in the UK and in other countries. For instance, Australia uses the .com.au second level domain.
The domain name .co.uk is for commercial entities in the UK, but you might have come across others such as .ac.uk (for academic purposes), .gov.uk (government), .ltd.uk (limited companies), .nhs.uk (NHS organizations and trusts) or .police.uk (police forces and law enforcement organizations).
Why you shouldn’t use a free subdomain for your business website
Besides the types of domains that we have seen above, there are also subdomains, which are owned by another domain.
Some services allow you to get a free subdomain. However, this isn’t always a good approach, especially when it comes to businesses and commercial websites.
There are various reasons why you shouldn’t use a subdomain for your business website, including the fact that the registrant of the upper hierarchy name has control over the address. Having your own name can also help with credibility.
Whilst you might get your subdomain for free, you don’t own the website. This can cause many problems in the long run. For instance, you can’t optimize your website properly. You also might not be able to see how your users interact with your website, which gives you valuable information.
Having your website on a subdomain can also affect your audience’s perception of your business. Additionally, it can also limit the use you can make of it as an online shop.
Why you should choose a .co.uk domain name
Most people prefer .co.uk domains when searching online in the UK.
If you are a business owner in the United Kingdom, it makes sense to take advantage of this fact to help new customers find you on the internet.
People would click first on a domain ending with co.uk mainly because it implies a sense of familiarity versus other ‘newer’ domain endings.
How can you get a free .co.uk domain name?
Many hosting companies offer free or very cheap .co.uk names – but just for the first year. From the second year, you need to pay the full price for the domain, or change providers and look for another one which also provides free domains for another year.
However, doing this would mean you would have to keep on changing providers every year, which takes up a lot of time doing research, shifting to the new hosting company and even incurring fees when you make the change.
Bundled services
At Patrick Internet we are offering an alternative solution for business owners who need a free .co.uk domain. We are now offering a free domain name for new users on their hosting plan.
That is unlimited web hosting, including everything you could need for your website, including free wild-card SSL Certificate for all your hosted domains, Website Acceleration Suite to improve SEO and Free Content Delivery Network (CDN) worth £240/y.
And it doesn’t need to be a .co.uk domain. You can also choose a .me.uk or .org.uk domain if it is more suitable for your needs.
Free .**.uk domain names apply to WordPress Hosting too, which means you can build your website with the same Content Management System that is powering millions of websites around the world. WordPress allows you to build your website with an extensive library of themes, plug-ins and widgets, making it very easy to use and a great option for businesses of all sizes.
